During the meet, Naidu directed the district collectors to take steps on loan waiver to farmers. "This means 96.5 per cent of farmers (who have availed a loan of up to Rs 1.5 lakh) will get complete benefit of loan waiver," he said.
"The remaining 3.5 per cent farmers (who took loans of more than Rs 1.5 lakh) would get waiver only up to Rs 1.5 lakh. This means even if a household has more than one loan, the limit for each household on waiver has been set at Rs 1.5 lakh," the release quoted him as saying.
Naidu told them that under the 'Polam Pilustondi' programme the collectors should visit villages twice a week to educate farmers on modern technology.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary I Y R Krishna Rao said that the share of horticulture, dairy, fisheries and animal husbandry is huge in the GDP and asked them to focus on these activities to generate additional income.
Naidu said, paddy is being cultivated on 17.6 lakh acres in the state, for which the district officials should ensure that farmers receive required fertilisers.
Declaring water conservation as one of the top priorities, Naidu asked the district officials to look into restoration of old tanks and construction of new ones.
"In the drought-hit Ananthapur and Kadapa districts, the government has designed a contingency plan for alternative crops that wouldn't require much water. The Neeru-Chettu scheme aims to make Andhra Pradesh a drought-free state," he said asking the Forest Department to identify plants that help increase the ground-water table.